Filling machine



April 4, 1944. A. R. THoMP'soN FILLING MACHINE Filed March 9, 1940 4Sheets-Sheet 1 a is ATTORNEY April 1944. A. R. THOMPSON FILLING MACHINEFiled March 9. 1940 4 Sheets- Sheet s INVENTQR MRMY P E ww mam RAM A E 5L Av- Aprii 4, 1944 A, R. THOMPSON 2,346,056

FILLING MACHINE Filed March 9, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. ALBERT R.THOMPJO/V ATTORN Y.

Patented Apr. 4, 1944 UNIT D STATES .E ENT QF'Flfi 2 ;346,05 6

FILLING MACHINE Albert R.- Thompson, Los Gatos, Calitl, assignor "toFood Machinery Corporation, "Saii""J6se, Califi, acorporatiori ofDelaware Application March 9, 1940, Serial N0..323, 153

. (iClairns. iQl. 226 9 8) he m n of th Y' lve's- Another object of theinvention to machines for fillin i9 Hrsv a mai i W iQh. w l r iiuc v ousmater i o so ia ne fs 1 m an nc osed rvoir Wh re ubtl b th materi isfman a ne under pressure and from which it is discharged through valveswhich are vented to the atmosphere.

Another-"object ofth'e invention is to provide a machine which-will fill the container under ur o mini a s l i mar a Other objects will appearafter the following has been embodied.

. h raw n ae .ati n. o t mach n Sn w th i rin e s m s q' q hiq h h mahine i'catedlby. arrowsZTZ in J." I "5.

Fig; '6 'isa"fragmentary'ielevation of the earn track. The direction of:the view is indicated'by arrows 6i6 inFig. I

Figs. 7 and j'8 ar'e fragmentary sections, taken as indicated inFig". r

Fig. 9 is diagrammatic development of the earn track.

A n e r n o t e mash @4 51 h t m in which it arena wm' e 'w n era- Thetomato-paste is deposited: in a supply tank Ill (Fig. -1) f -roin 'w-hiclffitis drawn by al p mp 'I'I.

and'force d through the ipe I"! into the reservoir I3. The reservoir hasa lid l4 secured hy cla ps I5. The pump II maintainsthe pressure wit inthe reservoir I3 above-atmospheric. A series'of valves. I3 isarrangedaround the bottor'n'ofthe reservoir. The -cans- I-I are carriedin vertical alignment .withthevalves It in carriers I-8 which are.elevated by. en'gagement'oitl ie'irwrol le 's' l a with -aicam track'20... The carrierslii metamunison withthareservoir-JI 3 about-a verticalaxis around the machine each can I7 is raised into engagementwith'its valve I6, openingthe'valve by Contact therewith. The paste isforced through the valve into the can; and excess paste displaced fromthe can are discharged through the pipes} I The paste overflow collectsin the trough-22 from which it is drawn through the pipe 23 by the pump24 and returned to the tank I!) through the pipe 25. The pressure inthe-reservoir I3'is determined by the height of the stand pipe 26 whichalso serves to maintain the pressuresubstantially constant by by-p'assingthe paste to the tank. When the machine'is started, the pet cock 2}(Figs. 1 and 2) is open to exhaust airfrom the reservoir and to avoidair lock which might prevent delivery of paste to the eservoir;When'paste begins to issue from the pet cool; 2'! it is an indicationthat the reservoir isfilled with paste and the machine is ready to startfilling cans. The valve 2'I is then closed. Y I

Proceeding now with the description of the machine itself, a supportingframework is provided which includes a. base ZBQTVertical standards 29,and-across piece 30 to whichthe downwardly? extendingsnpply'pipe 3I is sc re The central body 32 (Fig-L 2) "of the basejZB has a verticalbearing 33, a web 34, and a verticalfiange 35, upon the upper edge ofwhich the main'ca'rn track 21] is The cam track 20 (Fig. 2) has alower-level portion andan upperlevel portion M. The angular extent ofthese portions is shown in the plan view inFig. 5. The lower-levelportion 90 is connected by an upwardly-inclined portion 92 with theupper-level portion '9 I which extends from the radial line 93 to theradial'line 94. "A

downwardly-inclined portion 95 connects the end of the upper-levelportion 9| with the beginning of the lower-level portion 90. Anauxiliary cain track 96 is mounted on the upper-level portion 9|. Itcomprises two arcuate segments 91, 98. Segment 9'! is securedby screws99 to the main cam track 20. Throughout its length the segment 91 isone-half the width of the cam track 2|], as can be seen in the sectionFig. 7; except at the end I00 (Fig--52 -.where extends the full widthand has a' bevel IOI' (Fig. 6 The width of the segmentilfl is also justhalf'tha width of the cam track 20, so thatit can rest upon the trackwith a portion of its length in side by side relation with the segn ient91, as shown'in Figs. 5 and 8. The-segmenttais -sli'dably mounted ontrack ZII-by ma'ns-o- L-shaped pieces "I02 (Fig.

aswfl-l presentlyhedescribed. During its trasvl 55 8 welded 'thel -towhichelfibrac the 'flange I03 of the track. Set screws I64 serve tosecure the segment 98 in adjusted position, and it will be apparent thatby loosening these set screws, the segment can be adjusted lengthwise soas to vary the effective over-all length of the auxiliary cam track 96for a purpose hereinafter to be described. The end I65 (Fig. 5) ofsegment 98 is beveled.

Journalled in the bearing 33 is a hollow shaft 3] upon which is shrunkthe hub 38 (Fig. 2) of a circular table 39 having depending guides 49formed integrally therewith. The can carriers. I8 are secured toplungers H which slide in the guides 46. Each plunger has a stub'shaft'extending laterally therefrom upon which a cam follower I9 isjournalled. "Depending from the bottom of the reservoir I3 is acylindrical portion 42 which is threaded onto the hub 38 at 43. has avertical slot at 44 and a. clamping bolt45 for securing the reservoir inany vertically.ad-.

justed position with respect to the table 39 for rotation therewith. Thetable is rotated by means of a ring gear 46 driven by a pinion 41 onshaft 48 which is driven from drive shaft 49 by worm 56 and wheel 5|. v

The drive shaft 49 (Fig. 1) has a pulley 52 for receiving power from asuitable source. When the pulley 52 is rotated; the train of gearingjust described rotates the table 39 by means of ring gear 46 and thereservoir, I3 rotates in unison with the table. The can carriers I8 arecarried around by the table andare raised and lowered by the rollers I9following the main cam track 26 and the auxiliary cam track 96. .Whenthe cans I! are raised they openthe lift valves I6, which will now bedescribed.-

As shown in Fig.3 the valve body 53 has a passage 36 opening into thereservoir I3 at its upper end. The body 53is cylindrical and a liftplate 54 is telescopically-guided thereon by means of a cylindricalflange 55. Leakage through this telescopic joint is prevented by arubber jacket 56. The upper flange 5'! of the jacket 56 is held incontact with the flange 56 on the valve body by a compressionspring 59coiled around the valve andibearing against a washer 60. The lowerflange of the jacket 56is maintained in contact withthe lift plate 54 bythe spring 59 bearing againsta washer 6I. 1

The lift plate 54 has a port 62 which is adapted to be closed by thefixed valve head 63 when in engagement with the annular rubber seat 64on the lift 54, as shown at the left in Fig. 2. The valve head 63 isthreaded: on a tube 65 (Fig. 3) which passes through av vertical bore inthe valve body 53. A fitting 66 is'secured'to the'upper end of tube 65.When the valve head 63 is screwed onto the tube 65 the collar 61 of thefitting 66 is drawn tight against the face 68 of the valve body to holdthe tube 65 rigidlyin placeso that the valve head 63 is fixed withrespect to the valve body 53. v I

The valve head 63 has a central passage 69 formed therein whichcommunicates with the passage 76 in the tube 65. In order to extend thisvent and overflow passage to the exterior of the reservoir a fitting IIis mounted in an aperture in the wall 12 of the reservoir. Thereis aninclined passage 13 formed in the fitting ,II, the inner end of which isconnected to the passage I0 by a pipe Hand suitable couplings l5, 76.The outer end of the passage 13 is closed by. a .plug I1 wh icl i may beremoved to permit the vent passages l3,-.'I4, 16, 69 to be cleaned outby steam, compressedair, or aflexible instrument. Communicating with thepassage,l3 is a passage 78 which extends laterally and then downwardly.The passage 18 opens to the atmosphere to vent air from the can. Afterthe air is exhausted from the can excess paste is forced out the ventpassage and is discharged downwardly from the passage I8 into the trough22.

The trough 22 is stationary. It encompasses the reservoir I3 (Fig. 1)and is supported by the standards 29. A sump I9 (Figs. 1 and 2) isformed in the trough at the discharge point where the pipe 23 isattached for the purpose described. In order to convey the paste whichcollects in the trough to the sump I9 wipers are attached to thefittings 'II. The wiper has a rectangular blade 80 (Fig. 3) which fitsin the trough 22. The blade is welded to a nut 8| (Figs. 3 and 4) whichis threaded on a sleeve 82 which is threaded into the end of the passage18. As the reservoir rotates, the wipers 86 carry the paste around thetrough to the sump I9.

The operation is as follows: The tomato paste is put in the supply tankI0 (Fig. 1) from which it is transferred'under' pressure by the pump tothe rotating reservoir I3. Each can I! is elevated by itscarrier I8until its rim 83 (Fig. 3) comes into engagement with the annular rub-'her seat 64 which forms a pressure-seal connection between the rim ofthe can and the lift plate 54, so that the paste cannot escapetherebetween. As the can is elevated further it raises the lift 54against the spring 59, removing the seat 64 from the fixed valve head63' and opening the port 62. I

The paste is forced from the reservoir I3 through the passage 36 in thevalve body 53 out of the port 62 and then laterally over thetop of thevalve head 63 and radially toward'the wall I varied by adjusting thethreaded connection 43' (Fig. 2).. table 39 decreases the size of'theoutlet 84', and vice versa.

Raising the reservoir I3 from the In filling the can the paste is forcedout of the outlet 84 and descends the wallof the can. Being viscous itbuilds up from, the bottom and from the wall of the can, as indicated bythe broken outline 85 in Fig. 2. The air pocket 85 shrinks as the pastecloses in and .the'air escapes through the central opening 69in thevalvehead 63 into the vent passage and out to the atmosphere. When the air isexhausted from the can and the can is full of paste; additional paste isforced in through the valve to displace paste up the vent passage toobtain a visible discharge from the fitting II into the trough 22 as anindication that the can is full. The valve head 63 is proportioned inthickness and diameter to act as a displacement head, it being-disposedbelow the rim ofthe can when the can is being filled, so thatWhen-the-can is lowered away from the valve the paste will settle to'thedesired level below the rim. g v I The time required to'fill-each canwill depend on several factors, namely: the pressure head on the valve;the speed of rotation of the table 39; the efiective area of thedischarge outlet 84; and certain other factors. such as the theless,it-is desirable to maintain this over-'- flow at. a minimum. Thisisaccomplished by adjusting the auxiliary tracker"), as'will now bedescribed.

. The progress of the cans around. the machine is indicated by theseries of brokenel'ine circles in Fig. 'The can enters the machine inthe directionof the arrow Ilil where it is placed on a carrier whoseroller is on the lower-level portion 90 of the main cam track 20. As thetable rotates (clockwise in Fig. 5) the roller encounters the incline 92(Figs. 5 and 9). When the roller reaches the upper level, the beginningofv which is indicated by the radial line 93 in Fig. 5 and thecorresponding vertical line 93' in Fig. 9, the carrier has elevated thecan to the point where its rim 83 (Fig. 3) is in proximity to the rubberring 64 on the lift 54. The carrier roller then rolls up the beveled endIiil (Fig. 6) of the segment 9! onto the auxiliary track 96, opening thevalve. The filling continues until the roller arrives at the point III(Fig. 9) when the roller descends the bevel I05 on the end of theadjustable segment 93 onto the upper level 9| of the main track 28,closing the valve, as shown in Fig. 1. When the roller reaches the point94 (Figs. 5 and 9) it descends the slope 95, lowering the can away fromthe valve. The filled can then leaves the machine in the direction ofarrow II2 (Fig. 5).

Referring to Fig. 9, the time the valve is open is represented by thedistance from 93 to I I I. In practice the efiective length of theauxiliary track may be varied by endwise adjustment of the adjustablesegment 98 to locate the cut-off point I I I where minimum overflow isobtained. During the time from III to 9 3 (Fig. 9) the valve is closed.By closing the valve at an advanced point in the cycle additional timeis allowed for material to drip from the valve into the can.

I have found that machines embodying my invention can be economicallyconstructed and are reliable in operation. This I attribute to therelative simplicity and ruggedness of the mechanism required, ascompared to machines heretofore designed for handling material, such astomato paste. I have also found that the use of my invention in afilling machine provides a machine which has a high capacity, in that itwill fill containers with viscous substances at a rapid rate in spite ofthe normally sluggish movement of such substances.

While I have described a particular embodiment of the present invention,it will be obvious that various changes and modifications may be made inthe details without departing from the spirit of the present inventionand the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention and in what manner the same may beused, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A machine for filling containers with materials of high viscosity,comprising a supply tank, an enclosed reservoir, 3, pump to transfermaterial from said tank to said reservoir, a by-pass to return excessmaterial to said tank and to regulate the pressure maintained on thematerial in said reservoir, a valve in said reservoir for exhausting airtherefrom and for indicating the presence of an adequate supply ofmaterial therein, a plurality of lift-type filling valves each havingmeans to establish a pressure seal connection with the opening in thecontainer, and an overflow passage from each valve to the exterior ofthe reservoir having an outlet open to the atmosphere for exhausting airfrom the container and for indicatingby discharge of overflow materialfrom the container that the container has been filled with the material.

2. A machine for filling containers with materials of high viscosity,comprising a supply tank, an enclosed reservoir, a pump to transfermaterial from said tank to said reservoir, a by-pass to. return excessmaterial to said tank and to regulate the pressure maintained on thematerial in said reservoir, a plurality of valved outlets in saidreservoir, means on each outlet to establish a pressure-seal connectionwith the opening in the containenan overflow passage in each outlet toconduct excess material away from the container after the container hasbeen filled with material under pressure, a conduit to collect theexcess material from said overflow passages, and a pump to return thematerial in said conduit to said supply tank.

3. In a machine for filling cans, a rotary reservoir having fillingvalve units mounted in the bottom thereof, each unit comprising a valvebody having a filling passage communicating with the reservoir, valvemeans to close the outlet of said passage comprising a valve head, aspring-pressed lift adapted to contact the rim of the can and beelevated thereby, and a seat for said valve head on said lift, a ventpassage having an opening into the can through said head, said ventpassage being provided by a pipe extending upwardly from the valve bodyinto the reservoir and then through the wall of the reservoir to theexterior thereof and terminating in a depending end, a stationary troughunderlying said depending ends of said vent pipes, and a wiper rotatingwith said pipes and fitting into said trough, whereby upon rotation ofsaid reservoir the excess material from the cans will be dischargedthrough said vent passages into said trough and conveyed around saidtrough to a discharge point by said wiper.

4. A machine for filling cans and the like with semi-liquid and pastysubstances, comprising a supporting framework, an enclosed reservoirhaving filling valves in the bottom thereof, a series of can carriersbeneath said valves, means to rotate said reservoir and carriers inunison, means including a cam track attached to said framework to raiseand lower said carriers during each revolution, means to maintain asupply of the substance in said reservoir under substantially constantpressure, each of said filling valves having two passages therein, afilling passage to admit the substance to the can under pressure fromthe reservoir and an overflow passage to withdraw excess substance fromthe can, each of said filling valves having a lift plate which opens thevalve when raised by a can, said plate having a seal which makes anair-tight connection with the rim of the can to prevent escape of thesubstance therebetween, said overflow passages in said filling valvesdischarging into an open trough secured to said framework, a pipe towithdraw the substance from said trough, and a wiper rotated in unisonwith said reservoir extending into said trough to sweep the substancedischarged into said trough to said withdrawal pipe.

5. In a machine for filling cans with viscous substances, an enclosedreservoir, means to maintain a supply of the substance in said reservoirunder pressure, filling valve units mounted in the bottom of saidreservoir, each unit comprising a valve body having a filling passagecommunicating with the interior of said reservoir, a can-actuated liftvalve to control the outlet of said filling passage, a vent passage, thelower end of sa'id passage opening into the can, said passage leadingupwardly through said valve body and extending upwardly and outwardlythrough the wall ofsaid reservoir to the exterior thereof, a removableplug to close the upper end of said passage, :and a second vent passage,the inner end of said second passage communicating with said first ventpassage adjacent the upper end thereof, the outer end of said secondpassage opening into the atmosphere.

6. A machine for filling open top containers with a viscous substance,comprising a supporting framework, an enclosed reservoir having a seriesof ports formed in the bottom thereof, a series of container carriersbeneath said ports, means to rotate said reservoir and carriers inunison, means for maintaining a supply of viscoussubst'ance'in saidreservoir under pressure, valve means nor.- mally closing said ports,means on said framework for raising said carriers during the unitedrotationof said reservoir and carriers to raise said containers with theopen top thereof in engagement with the valve means for opening saidports, an open trough having an outlet formed therein and arranged onsaid framework concentric with said reservoir, vent means associatedwith said valve means for discharging excess substance into said opentrough, a wiper extending into said open trough, and means for movingsaid wiper through the trough to urge the excess substance toth outletformed in said trough.

ALBERT R. THOMPSON.

